2.8. About the Apache Software License
Apache Maven is released under the Apache Software License, Version
2.0. If you want to read this license, you can read
${M2_HOME}/LICENSE.txt or read this license on the Open Source
Initiative’s web site here:
http://www.opensource.org/licenses/apache2.0.php.
There’s a good chance that, if you are reading this book, you are not
a lawyer. If you are wondering what the Apache License, Version 2.0
means, the Apache Software Foundation has assembled a very helpful
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page about the license available
here:
http://www.apache.org/foundation/licence-FAQ.html.
Here’s is the answer to the question "I am not a lawyer. What does it
all mean?"
[This license] allows you to:
-
freely download and use Apache software, in whole or in part, for
personal, company internal, or commercial purposes;
-
use Apache software in packages or distributions that you create.
It forbids you to:
-
redistribute any piece of Apache-originated software without proper
attribution;
-
use any marks owned by The Apache Software Foundation in any way
that might state or imply that the Foundation endorses your
distribution;
-
use any marks owned by The Apache Software Foundation in any way
that might state or imply that you created the Apache software in
question.
It requires you to:
-
include a copy of the license in any redistribution you may make
that includes Apache software;
-
provide clear attribution to The Apache Software Foundation for any
distributions that include Apache software.
It does not require you to:
-
include the source of the Apache software itself, or of any
modifications you may have made to it, in any redistribution you may
assemble that includes it;
-
submit changes that you make to the software back to the Apache
Software Foundation (though such feedback is encouraged).
